1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to an apparatus and method for recording data in an information recording medium in which data is subjected to error correction coding (ECC) and stored, and/or for reproducing data from the information recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
An error correction coding (ECC) format standardized for an existing optical disc system (such as DVDs, HD DVDs, Blu-ray discs, etc.) defines ECC performance for burst errors, such as scratches or fingerprints and for random errors such as dust. When discs are frequently used, the reliability of data recorded on the disc gradually deteriorates, due to dust, scratches, fingerprints, the influence of a recording power or a reproduction power and according to a user's disc management state. Particularly, when burst errors generated by physical scratches on the surface of the disc seriously damage data, it is difficult to restore the data.
Recently, DVDs have been developed that can correct successive errors with a length corresponding to 16 rows (16×183+10 bytes) of the ECC format. A length which can be corrected at once depends on a recording density. In the case of general DVDs, successive errors corresponding to a physical length of about 6 mm can be corrected. In the case of HD DVDs, successive errors corresponding to a physical length of about 6.4 mm can be corrected. In the case of Blu-ray discs, successive errors corresponding to a physical length of about 9 mm can be corrected.
Disc deterioration due to frequent use gradually makes the state of the disc worse. Data reliability is lowered due to successive errors (such as scratches or fingerprints), which reduce the lifespan of the disc. Also, physical scratches on the disc surface significantly increase the probability of the failure of error correction when data is reproduced. The physical scratches on the disc surface can be created when an objective lens of a pick-up for recording and reproducing collides with the disc surface or due to a user's management carelessness. Due to such data reliability deterioration, if error correction of data is impossible when the data is reproduced, data information recorded by a user will be lost. Also, in order to compensate for such data reliability deterioration, if data is recorded in a new ECC format not considering compatibility with an existing ECC format, reproduction compatibility with existing products is not ensured and thus many limitations in the use of discs will be passed on to the users.